Three Little Words
by Entwife Incognito
Summary: What happens to these two best friends when one falls in love? It isn't always comfortable and it's sometimes just plain rough, but true love and attraction give strength when it's most needed. Most probably AU. Five chapters. Warning! Strong adult sexual situations. A pretty rough fight. If you don't like that stuff, don't read this! Disclaimer: I own nothing about The Mentalist.
1. Chapter 1

"No. I, uh . . . "

"What is it, Lisbon? Have I done something wrong? I didn't mean to . . . what is it?" He'd been so careful about being open and honest with her, about talking to her about things that would affect her instead of assuming." What she'd said to him on the airplane, wanting out of his life, had set him seriously off balance. He'd never felt so cautious, so genuinely beseeching of a woman in his life!

"No! I mean, it isn't that." She cleared her throat. It was so dry lately. "You haven't done anything." No. She definitely would not be able to tell him. How could she? He wasn't ready to hear it. If he was ready, he would have said something first. If she did, it would spoil everything. Their friendship, their partnership. Everything. He was already walking on eggshells since their talk on the plane. She had hurt him, but after two years away from his manipulations, she wasn't going to start a partnership by allowing him such total control over her life!

Jane frowned in his chair, his stomach a tight ball of misery and anxiety. She'd been like this for days, and he'd gone over everything he could remember, which was a lot, coming up empty handed for anything offensive enough to trigger this! Something on Lisbon's mind was eating away her happiness, but she wouldn't tell him. She was jumpy, too quiet and cleared her throat constantly whenever they were alone. Whatever it was, she had to choke it back to keep it from coming out. He was sure he had misstepped. Again.

Why wouldn't she just tell him? He was thrown completely off his game. He hardly dared analyze anything about her for fear of drawing conclusions, acting on them and infuriating her. There was something he was missing and it was probably simple, or he wouldn't have overlooked it.

"Do you want some coffee?"

"No. Tea. Please."

"Tea." She never wanted tea.

"Please."

"A particular k—"

"Whatever you're having will be nice."

"All right. I'll put some honey and lemon in yours." Her face was a question. "For your throat.

Tipping her chin up, she nodded calmly. "Thanks. I need something for it."

Jane walked down the hall to the break room on that floor of the FBI building. Confused. He had never felt confused about Lisbon's feelings before. It was very unsettling. Was she considering severing their partnership and leaving him? The thought unnerved him. More profoundly, it stretched bleakly in front of him, a total desert of loneliness. She wouldn't do that without talking to him first. Not after she'd called him on his own running off. He had changed. He would never run away again without telling her where and making sure she could reach him. He was sure she knew that.

Jane noticed he was rumbling absently through the cupboard, touching and handling he knew not what. Sighing and dropping his head, still for a moment, he tried to recalibrate himself and realized he was in the wrong cupboard entirely. He slammed the door and jerked the right one open, knocking someone's cup into the sink with a clatter. Luckily, it didn't break. He managed to get two mugs of tea together, chamomile, plenty of honey and a good squeeze of fresh lemon in hers. They could both use something soothing to settle their nerves.

"Chamomile. How's that?"

Lisbon sniffed the vapor rising from her cup, so light and flowery, the scent of honey lifting summer to her nose, the lemon refreshing and clean. "This is great. Thanks."

They sipped in silence for a while, their tea scenting the small empty office they used when they wanted to get away from large expanses of the sterile warehousing where the FBI stored its employees. The little office was just as bland and cold, but at least it wasn't a panorama of sterile. And it held the comfortable couch Jane had contracted for. They sat at a small table, facing, but not looking at each other.

"Do you want to get dinner later?"

"Do you mind if we just get some take-out?"

"No. That's fine. We'll eat in the Airstream."

She cleared her throat. "Sure. That sounds great."

"Did it help your throat?"

"I think it did." But she cleared it softly again.

Jane set down his empty cup. "I'll grab a nap on the couch here, if that's all right."

"Sure," Lisbon said, nodding a little too hard and getting up a little too quickly. "I'll just . . . go do something else."

"You don't have to leave. Here. I'll curl up and make room for you at the end of the couch."

"No. Thanks. I'm going to go do . . . something." She cleared her throat loudly. "I'll see you later at the lake." She grabbed the mugs to return them to the break room.

Jane stretched out on his couch, closed his eyes and began his usual resting reflection on Lisbon. That cough. The honey and lemon should have helped it, if only for a short time. His suspicion was confirmed. There was nothing wrong with her throat. It was tension. Something she wanted to say, but couldn't. Most likely to him. He groaned, a sound of distress softly vibrating in his chest.

Jane had found a spot for the Airstream at a nice motor home park with a view of Lake Travis. It was his home for now. She was staying in a small apartment nearby, still trying to decide if she wanted a condo or a house. The new job left her with more time on her hands than she was used to, no longer having administrative duties to tie her into an office until late.

A lot of extra thinking time had fallen into her lap. Sitting quietly in her apartment with a glass of wine in the evenings when they weren't out of town on a case, she had fallen into the habit of analyzing her life and her relationships. It wasn't always uplifting. But mainly she found herself lonely for Patrick Jane's company. More and more, she just wanted to be with him, even if they did nothing in particular. Sometimes they texted or called, just to ask what the other was doing. More and more, she wished that technology wasn't necessary.

Lisbon cleared away the take-out containers and tidied the little kitchen area of the Airstream while Jane went outside and built a fire in the elevated industrial strength grill that anchored the camp site. Both sat quietly drinking wine, looking over the lake, stars filling the dark sky overhead. They were outside only for a short while. The weather was unseasonably cold, even for mid-December and they eventually gave it up and went inside. They were just as silent there. Except for Lisbon clearing her throat.

Jane really wanted her to talk to him, forgive him if she could for whatever he had done. "Lisbon, I don't know what to apologize for."

She could hear the distress in his voice, see it in his face even in profile. It was intolerable. She had to tell him. Openness and honesty worked both ways.

"No. No! Please don't think you've done something wrong. You haven't." she stood up and walked over to where he had braced his arms over the sink, the picture of dejection. Putting her hand on his back, she rubbed lightly over his shirt, then gripped his shoulder a little to turn him to face her. He looked so sad.

"I haven't wanted to tell you . . . "

He waited quietly, looking at her.

"I didn't want to ruin everything—"

"Oh. You're leaving, aren't you?" His face turned red with heat and he shook his head. "Whatever it is, Lisbon, I can fix it. I know I can." His voice was gravelly with suppressed emotion.

"You can't fix this. I didn't want to ruin everything—"

"You couldn't ruin anything. It has to be me."

Lisbon paused and took a breath. "—between us. I didn't want to ruin everything between us, Jane." She took his hands gently into hers, pressing his fingers, toying with his ring. "I've tried hard to let it go, to keep things as they are. But I can't."

"Just say it, Lisbon. I'm sure we can work it out. Give me a chance to make it right."

A grim smile cut itself into her face. "It's not that kind of thing. Look . . . " She jerked on his hands gently and looked into his worried eyes. "I'm making a mess of it. But not telling you is making it worse. It's just that . . . I love you, Jane."

He looked at her and his gaze softened as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Lisbon. Love you, too. You know I do. I—"

"No. I love you, Patrick. Love you love you. That's all."

Eyes round with surprise, it took a moment for him to react, blushing, confused, concerned. "But. But you didn't . . . I never saw—"

"No. You don't know everything about me, Patrick. I can hide things if I need to. Important things."

The silence rustled as she moved away from him. "It's all right. I know you don't feel the same way. It's just we're partners. Keeping it to myself worked for a little while. I thought maybe it would go away, that I was just—flattered that you would go to such lengths to be sure we were together." She let a little irritation show now, just to be sure he hadn't forgotten her next point. "Even if you went too far making me a bullet in your negotiations without asking. I tried to tell myself it was about work and doing good. And it is. But it's more. And I was messing us up by not saying anything. And now I'm messing up by telling you."

Jane shook his head. "No," he said softly. 'You're not messing up. I just never expected this. I never thought you could . . . Are you sure?"

Lisbon laughed. "Yes. Very sure." But her mirth drained away, draining into her heart where a million tears waited to be shed. "I'd better go."

"No. No, don't. This is too important for you to just leave. You're not leaving me for this, are you, Teresa?"

"Right now? No."

"Give me time. Please. Let me figure this out."

"You don't have to figure anything out, Patrick. You're fine. Everything is fine."

"No! Everything is not fine! You love me. You love me, Teresa. I don't know what to do."

"Nothing. There's nothing to do. I feel better. I'm glad I told you. I don't know what to do either."

Jane crossed the room as Lisbon put her hand on the door latch. "Can I kiss you?"

"Why?"

"You love me, damn it! Don't you want me to kiss you?"

"Do you want to kiss me?"

"I don't know."

"I don't know either, Jane. I don't have the answers. So, let's not kiss for now. Okay?"

"A hug?"

"I don't think so." Lisbon's whole body was alive with confused sensation swirling around a vortex of dread. "Let's not start anything new tonight, okay?"

He sighed. "Okay. Good night, then, Teresa."

"Good night. See you tomorrow." She managed to get into the car before the tears started to flow, relief at first. Finally. It was out in the open. But it would probably ruin everything. That's when the sobbing started.


	2. Chapter 2

In the night, they were called for a case in Reno, leaving early in the morning. All discussion on the plane was case-related, as it was for the three days they were there. No conversation beyond the necessary passed between Jane and Lisbon, each retiring quickly after their tasks were completed for the day. Jane seemed to find good reasons not to sit next to Lisbon on the plane, a fact noted but not mentioned by Agent Fischer. Lisbon was miserable, but tried to look like she didn't notice, skimming magazines or closing her eyes to listen to music. Mainly, she wanted to get far away from the plane and Jane, hurrying off at touchdown to get her car from remote parking to drive home.

At about ten-thirty that night, her phone rang. The caller ID'd Jane. To refuse a call from him would be a step too far. They were friends, after all.

"Jane."

"Hi, Lisbon. You hurried away."

"Yeah. I know." Silence. "You want me to lie about why?"

"No. I guess I know why."

"You wouldn't sit next to me."

"Yeah. I thought it would be better. That you'd feel better if I—"

"Treated me like I had cooties?"

"No! Lisbon! I thought . . . since you were feeling—"

"You thought that since I loved you, I wouldn't want to be near you, couldn't handle it."

"Am I an idiot? I was trying to help."

"No. You're not an idiot, and I know you were trying to help. Nothing will help. Are you sure you didn't stay away for yourself?"

"Yes. That, too. I still think of you as my boss. How I act is automatic, how I think- thought of you. I never thought . . . " Jane paused, wanting to word things just right. Why was it so hard all of a sudden?

"Thought what?"

"I was sure you thought I wasn't good enough for you. Unstable. Secretive. Controlling."

"I can understand why you thought I felt that way. Maybe I did for a long time. It helped me create professional distance between us. It became a necessary habit, one I didn't have to question or think about. It's different now. You've actually made some real changes for me those last couple years. It made a big difference, Jane. I could tell you cared. That you wanted to be partners. It changed how I thought of you."

He moaned a sigh. "That means so much to me. That you noticed. Because I did try really hard. And I felt changed. Things were easier between us. It changed my whole life, really."

"That's good, Jane. Because that's what made me fall in love with you, I think. That you would try so hard for me. It's rare. Utterly rare. It made you a man I could love."

His heart beating fast, Jane was caught in the thrill of her words, 'in love.' They gave him courage. "Uh, Lisbon? Teresa? Will you come out with me for dinner tomorrow night?"

Lisbon quickly slid from a reclining position on her sofa to sitting up straight, and shook her head to clear it. What on earth was he getting at? "Are, are you asking me on a date?"

"Yes, of course. We've never had one. And here you are in love with me-"

"I didn't say 'in love,' fathead! I said I love you."

Jane grinned broadly for the first time in at least a week. This sounded like his Lisbon! And she wasn't even aware that she had said she was 'in love' with him! It felt good to have that secret knowledge.

"What's the difference?"

Lisbon hesitated. What was the difference? "Love is mature and stable, deep and satisfying. It's calm and it wants the best for the other person. 'In love' is breathy and blushing, passionate and romantic. You think about the person all the time, lie in bed fantasizing, yearn for their touch."

"You mean there's no thrill in love? Lisbon, I must differ with you. The physical side of love is definitely thrilling. And the happiness."

"Don't twist my words!"

"Have you ever been in love, Lisbon?"

"Yes, Jane. Just because I'm also fearful about loving someone doesn't mean I haven't been in love."

"Being in love makes you afraid?"

"Parts of it. Didn't it you?"

"Which parts?'

"The usual things. Committing to one person. Being with them for life. Things can go wrong. Maybe the person isn't who you thought they were. Maybe you'll get bored."

"Well, we certainly know who the other person is."

"Yes. I think so. And if you don't think that's scary, you aren't thinking straight, Jane."

"Are you trying to talk me out of it, or yourself?"

"Neither of us. It's too late for me." Jane heard her chuckle wryly. "Maybe you should run."

"Teresa. The last person I'd be afraid of is you. You would never deliberately try to hurt me. You've only ever tried to help me, been there for me. Even if it wasn't love until the last."

"The last couple years, Jane. But it took me a long time to understand that's what was happening, so I guess I shouldn't count the unconscious part."

"You're giving me a lot to think about. We couldn't be any closer as friends."

"That's true."

"You're my best friend, Teresa. That's an awfully good place to start for a first date."

"I agree." She'd already told him she loved him. She wasn't about to go all gushy by saying how he was her best friend, too.

"And I have to say, I haven't missed your physical attributes in all this time, Lisbon."

"Patrick Jane! Are you saying you think I'm pretty?" She blushed over the phone.

"Absolutely. More than that, really. Sometimes I, well, I think about you, wonder what it would be like to be . . . romantic with you."

"Romantic?"

"Physical. Yes, Lisbon. Do you want me to spell it out for you?"

"Maybe some other time. We don't want to move too fast."

"Oh, yes, twelve years is really pushing it."

But Lisbon wanted to know more. "How long have you been wondering about being romantic with me?"

"Oh, probably since the first day."

"Jane. That's not romance! That's lust!"

"Isn't that the most important part of romance?"

"Well . . . it's a necessary ingredient, I guess."

"You guess?"

"All right. Yes. It's critical for a love-pairing."

"Love-pairing. Oooooh! That does sound lusty! Do you have FaceTime on your tablet?"

"Okay. This phone call is over. You're teasing me now. It's not funny."

"Hmmmmm. So you want me to stop teasing and really do phone sex?"

"In your dreams, Patrick. What time are you picking me up tomorrow night?"

"Sevenish? Wear something comfy. I found this hole-in-the-wall Italian place. We can relax and enjoy ourselves there. It won't be loud, so we can talk. If we like each other, next time we'll go dancing."

"If we like each other? We just said we were best friends. Of course we like each other."

"You never said if I was your best friend, too. Dancing this weekend, it is, then!"

"Wait. You're right. We should see how our first date goes, first."

"Second thoughts, Teresa? So soon? I'm not sure I should be dating a girl with commitment issues."

"I'm just trying to keep you from taking over my life, Jane."

"Oh." He stopped playing and let a note of seriousness into his voice. "I didn't mean to push it. I'm just feeling a little excited about all of this, about getting to know you this way. I can't stop thinking about it, how we're opening a new window in our relationship."

Lisbon's heart softened a little as her resistance subsided. "Listen, Patrick. My window is already open, okay? So try not to bowl me over in case it doesn't work out."

Jane said softly, "Have a little faith in me, Lisbon."

"You're a sweet jackass. And I will try to have a little faith in you."

"Can I be _your_ sweet jackass?"

"You already are."

"Say it."

"You're _my_ sweet jackass, Patrick." Hearing him request it warmed her all over, but saying it for him lit her pilot light. She swore she felt the vibration and heard the "foom!" as she ignited.

"Ahhhhh," he sighed. "You don't know what that does for me."

"And I don't want to know. Now let me get some sleep."

"Sweet dreams!"

"Good night. See you at work in the morning." That man was soft and sweet as taffy inside!

It was a happier Teresa Lisbon who rested her head on the pillow that night. Her dreams were as sweet as Jane's goodnight wish. And if she didn't feel love, she felt the power of his regard and the warmth of his flirtation. It was more than enough relief after the tension of her past few weeks.

.x.x.x.x.x.

"Jane. You're looking at my boobs."

"I have to, now. Before I could only sneak little peeks at them or your ass."

"Oh. My ass, too?"

"Oh, yes. I told you, Lisbon. Your physical attributes weren't lost on me all this time. Besides, you're showing them off to me tonight. I like that."

"I'm not showing them off to you."

"Okay. But if you were, I'd say . . . "

"What?"

"Thank you, and they're spectacular! Especially in that soft, tight sweater! I'm glad it's not black. That lemony shade of yellow lets the candlelight . . . show me things."

"My god. I never knew you were so, so physical."

"Once in twelve years, Lisbon. That's a lot of thinking and peeking time. Now, you're cutting it loose! Be careful what you wish for!"

"I'm not wishing for anything. Stop it. We're trying to have dinner here." She arranged a modest forkful. "Try my scaloppini. It's wonderful!"

"Feed me!" He opened his wide lips and waggled his tongue.

Lisbon snickered and placed the food inside his mouth. "Do you ever stop?"

Narrowing his eyes with pleasure, he hummed his approval of the scaloppini. Swallowing, he followed it with a mouthful of the very good red wine he had ordered. "I don't know."

"With your memory palace, you can't remember?"

A shadow passed briefly through his eyes and he was silent a moment. "Different woman," he finally said, shrugging.

"Oh! Jane. I'm sorry. I never thought—"

"No, it's alright. You're just a lot of fun to play with, Lisbon. That's all I meant. I'm reacting to you. Only to you. Never think otherwise. This is you and me. No one else." He took her hand and caressed it lightly, releasing it almost before she noticed. "Okay?"

"Y-yes. Of course." Lisbon had also noticed the ring on the hand that had held hers, but said nothing.

"Teresa, tell me how you feels for me to look at you, as a man to a woman."

"I love you. How do you think it makes me feel?"

"I don't want to guess. I want to hear you say. You're all for honesty, right?"

"Well, there's something to be said for allure and mystery in romance, Jane."

"Romance! You're making me shiver, Lisbon."

She put her hand across the table to him and he took it. "All right. When you talk about enjoying my body, it makes me want to get closer to you."

Smiling, he brushed her hand with his fingertips. She squeezed his fingers and pulled away.

"But I want to take it slow until you know what you're feeling, okay? I didn't expect things to get sexual so soon."

"I don't see how it can be any other way between a man and a woman. Especially if love is involved."

Looking into his serious eyes, she nodded. "You're right. I just don't want to be overwhelmed without cause. That's all."

"'Overwhelmed without cause.' Sounds like a legal transgression. I really think you're the one that overwhelms me, Lisbon."

"Don't. That's what I mean."

"Don't what?"

"Don't move too fast. It will be hard for me to believe you're not just doing it to spare my feelings."

"We're such close, good friends. If we're going to be in love, too, the biggest area left is attraction and sex. I don't mean to be preoccupied by it. But I am preoccupied. And, I confess, it feels good to think about you that way, Teresa."

She blushed in the candlelight. "I'm glad. But sexual appreciation or even attraction doesn't equal love."

"Agreed. But don't we already love each other?"

"As friends, definitely."

"But now you think of me as a sexual partner."

"As part of loving each other as man and woman, Jane. In love. Not just jumping into bed and scratching an itch."

"Although that would be wonderful, too." He smiled into her shining eyes. "Look at the beautiful shade of pink you're turning. It's absolutely lovely. Would you settle for sex?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Just checking. It's an important question. I mean. I don't want to be toyed with, Lisbon. Used for your carnal pleasure."

"Jane! Why would you even think such a thing?"

"I don't know anything about you sexually except what I've seen of your various liaisons."

"Shut up, now. You're pushing too far." Lisbon started rearranging the cutlery at her place setting.

"It's not. What if I don't please you? Are you just fickle? Do you bore easily in bed? I know you're particular." Jane rearranged his own cutlery now. "Are you difficult to satisfy?"

"No! Not at all! I could ask all those questions of you!"

"Indeed you could. Perhaps you should."

"I won't! That's for us to discover about each other. When—er, if we're ready."

Jane had leaned forward over the table, keenly interested in the subject of their conversation. Now he leaned back, slouching a little as he looked at Lisbon cautiously. "Maybe we're ready."

"I assure you. We're not."

"I think I might be."

"So soon? I don't think so."

"Toaster, Teresa, toaster," he said, pointing to himself. "All I can think of right now is holding you and kissing you."

"Because of my ass and my tits."

Jane reddened a little. "No!" His eyes sparkled over a smile a moment later. "I also love to look at your face. Your wide dimple, so beautiful when you smile. Lovely big green eyes, round and clear and honest. And the shiny waves of your silken hair. Everything about your body, I should say your physical presence, is stunning, Teresa. You're a tiny princess with the power to deck a brute. I've said before, how could any man not be in love with you?"

Lisbon was left speechless at his remarks. She smiled at him shyly, the heat of her blush warming even her shoulders and back.

"It's true," Jane said softly. "And that's just about how you look. Who you are inside. That's what will bring a man to his knees in adoration."

Her head still lowered, she raised her eyes to look at him and whispered, "Stop. It's not necessary."

"But it's true. And I should mention your intensity." He paused to be sure she looked at him. "That speaks to a very passionate nature, Lisbon. That could be very good for us. For me. And believe me, I'd make it good for you. The idea of seeing that side of you, experiencing it, makes me feel things I haven't felt in a long time. And that I'd love to feel with you."

He spoke like a man in love. But if he was, it was just dawning on him, the light weak and shadowy but seeming saturated by the eyes of new passion.

"We should go, Jane. Work tomorrow." But she smiled with a warmth brighter than the candles on the table, glowing for him in her yellow angora sweater.


	3. Chapter 3

On the weekend, they went dancing at a charity function. Lisbon chose a green velvet dress, befitting the holiday season, with a scooped neck, long sleeves and a fitted skirt that brushed the middle of her knees. Her make-up was spare, meant to accent her already existing beauty rather than create illusion, shades of cherry on her cheeks and lips. She found Jane delicious in his suit, such a deep green it appeared black except in the brightest light, frosted with a crisp very pale green shirt and tie.

"You're very handsome."

"And you are breathtaking."

He settled a delicate corsage over her breast, and she fastened a sprig of holly and red berries for his boutonniere. They slow-danced especially well together, Jane being a very strong lead and Lisbon agile and responsive to him. They even looked good to each other on the faster, free-form numbers.

As the night wore on and they became more relaxed together, Lisbon didn't mind that Jane's hands often rested on her hips, his long fingers tickling the tops of her buttocks. She rather liked the way he pressed her back in just the right place to make it comfortable to lean her breasts into his chest, her head turned to face him as she relaxed against his shoulder. She especially liked when he would tilt his hips forward, forcing hers to rest against him and feel the solid maleness of him. It wasn't that he was blatantly aroused, but it wasn't that he wasn't either. It was subtle and suggestive, highly erotic and arousing almost beyond bearing.

A vendor with a small cart was selling little bouquets of flowers outside the door and when they left, Jane bought a small bunch of violets. He handed them to Lisbon and kissed the side of her forehead when she accepted them. So tiny and fragrant, she gently sniffed at them most of the way home, sometimes holding them under Jane's nose. His eyes would narrow with pleasure at their scent and he would smile and make satisfied noises it thrilled her to hear.

When he kissed her goodnight, he started at her neck and ended softly with her lips, leaving her heart pounding in her chest and the pulse at her throat beating wildly. This, Jane kissed last, his face very pink, his lips parted to breathe and his voice husky as he said only, "Teresa," before he turned to leave. She wondered if he had just committed her taste to memory.

After that, the pair had a steady date on the weekend, sometimes both Friday and Saturday. Usually, they managed dinner together at least once a week. On the weekends when they only had one date night, they would go for a drive or to the park if the weather was nice of an afternoon. Lisbon especially loved to be in the park with him because almost every dog they passed would sidestep its owner to come wagging its tail to Jane.

"It's just too bizarre! Did you learn dog whispering in your carny life?" She was holding his hand and gave it a tug to let him know she was teasing.

"I never had an animal act, but there were sure a lot of them in the circuit. Kids helped with the feeding and mucking out, basic stuff like that. So, we had to learn to be comfortable around all sorts of animals. Get them to respond, do what you needed them to do. Outsiders might think it was a special gift. But it was just knowledge and experience, like anything, really."

"You're so good with dogs, and you seem to love them. You should get one."

"Not with this job. Wouldn't be good for the animal for me to be away so much. Maybe when I settle down . . . "

"You? Settle down? White picket fence? Yard? Wife? Three kids? You want that?"

"Of course. I had it once."

"Oh, Jane, I'm so sorry. I keep stumbling into your old life. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"No. You did nothing wrong. We all have a past and it filters into who we are all the time. But we were talking about our future. Being a family man was the happiest part of my life. Of course I miss it and want it again." He put his arm around her. "Only this time, with a nice big friendly dog. That would be nice."

In the quiet moments that followed, Lisbon felt something of the extent of Jane's long years of loss and loneliness, then reminded herself she could never feel more than a sliver of what he had been through, what he must go through every day, having the awful memory of the moment he opened that door lodged in the reality of his life forever.

"God, Jane. Life just breaks my heart sometimes. I wish those things never happened to you."

"I know. Thanks. But if it wasn't for your goodness, your constancy, your unfailing belief in me . . . You gave me a chance to have a semblance of a life, to learn I could do good and to value that. I know I probably didn't act very grateful or seem very changed . . . Anyway . . . I don't think I ever thanked you for it."

"There are so many beautiful, wonderful things about you. I just didn't want to see you waste them."

Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed it and pressed it against his chest.

Their physical relationship moved slowly for their stage in life, although their desire for each other did nothing but advance and grow. It was as if they worked through stages, shy and careful with each other as much younger, less experienced lovers might. Kissing became almost a pastime and advanced to clothed fondling, although they would part in a technically chaste heat.

One night when he was leaving, Jane pulled Lisbon's hands and placed them around his waist, bending low to her ear. "I do love you, Teresa. Love you love you, as a man loves a woman. I want us to be together."

As he straightened, Lisbon looked into his face, his eyes so warm and vulnerable, his smile soft in the moonlight.

"Do you still love me?"

She nodded, eyes glistening, just as vulnerable to him as he lowered his head for a long passionate kiss.

"You make me so happy, Patrick."

"I can't imagine my life without you."

"I'm not going away." She held his cheek, turning it to place a kiss there. "I love you."

"I want to make love with you."

"We will. Soon. Let's just breathe here for a moment. It's such a beautiful moment."

His mouth widened into a broad smile. "Yes, it is." He kissed her again, just briefly, and drew her into a long, quiet embrace. Then he kissed her cheek. "See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

.x.x.x.x.x.

"This is the plan you gave Fischer for smoking out the suspect?"

"Yes, pretty clever, don't you think?"

"And you cleverly concocted my part in it without telling me!"

"You're an important part!"

"Just not important enough to include in the planning."

"What? Lisbon . . . You don't want to do it?"

"Jane! God damn it! You're dragging me in again, taking hold of my life. Without even talking to me about it! What do you care if I want to do it or not?"

"Of course I care! I, I—oh damn it! I guess I just got carried away and didn't think to check with you. It was one of those . . . things. It happened fast and I was caught up in the moment. I didn't tell her all of it, anyway. Some things she just doesn't need to know."

"And me, I don't need to know any of it at all."

Jane huffed resignedly. It was hard to tell if it was exasperation or regret.

"I don't see how I can continue in our relationship when you do this."

"Do you still love me?"

"I'll never stop loving you, Patrick. That's why it hurts so much."

"Then you have to forgive me. You have to give me another chance."

"God! Do you hear yourself? How many chances do I have to give you?"

"As many as it takes for me to get it right?"

"Are you shitting me, Patrick Jane? How can you expect me to just keep on forgiving you? Even I have a limit! Meanwhile, you do what you damn well please and just figure good old Teresa, yeah she'll be mad but she'll get over it. This is better for her, anyway. Fuck you!"

"Don't say another word, Teresa! Don't curse me! I can't hear that from you! Ever! Don't, just please don't. I can't toe the line every time. I'm not thinking of you every minute. If that's what you need, I'm definitely not your guy! You need to leave me because I could never live up to your expectations, never! I know you don't think you're perfect, but when you get like this, it sure seems like you do."

"I think I'm perfect? That's ridiculous! I'm so imperfect, it stinks! If you've got me as Saint Teresa, you're full of shit! I just don't talk about it all the time. Do you know what it's like to be paired with such a volatile person as you? Let me tell you. I have to tamp down my wants and desires, just so I'm not throwing gasoline on the fire that is Patrick Jane. Don't you think I'd like to cut loose once in awhile, go where my impulses take me and let you pick up the pieces? One of us has to be in control of themselves or we'll both go down in flames!"

"Who? Well, I want to see that person! I want to see that Teresa that lets it fly and damn the consequences! Show me her, for once!"

"You can't be trusted with her! You'd take over her life until she was as vacant as a balloon tied to your wrist!"

"I wouldn't! I'm doing everything not to. I know you don't want me to lose my balls. It's hard. It's too hard sometimes not to make the decisions I feel I need to make because you might not like them."

"Make your decisions, damn it! Just don't make mine!"

"I'm sorry! Jesus! What can I do? I know you don't want to leave me! You're lying!"

He rushed to where she stood and kissed her fiercely as she tried to fight him. He countered her balance to push her against the wall, pressing his chest to hers to hold her there. When he widened his stance to block the movement of her legs and press his hips and his erection against her, lowering his head to kiss her neck and throat, Lisbon brought her knee up, not as hard as she could, but hard enough to drop him to the floor, hollering.

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck!" His hands were between his legs as he writhed in pain. "What did you do that for?"

"You were trying to overpower me! I couldn't get you off me. What's wrong with you, Jane? What were you trying to do? You scared me!"

"Jesus, woman! I was trying for angry sex. Consensual, not rape! Do you really think I'd . . . ?"

"No! Of course not! I just . . . it was instinct, I guess. And my training . . . let me know what to do when. I'm sorry I hurt you." She was crying now.

"Next time, go for an arm wrench or something, would you? Not my damn balls!" He looked at her. "C'mon, Lisbon. Stop crying. I understand why you did what you did. But it hurt. I wanted to make love with you. That's all. I wanted you to take back that you want to leave me. I know you don't."

Lisbon was sobbing too hard to speak. Her face was red and blotchy, her nose running, her eyes puffy and raw. Jane had never heard the sounds she was making, sobbing and choked at the same time. She had both arms wrapped around her middle as if she was trying to hug herself."

"Oh. C'mere, Teresa." Jane sat up gingerly and reached a hand up. She took it and he pulled her down onto his lap, but clear of his stung genitals. "Haven't you ever had angry sex?"

Lisbon could only sob-talk. "N-no! It must be p-pretty scary."

Jane drew her close to him. "No. No, it's good. It's strong, but it's great. I didn't mean for it to be scary. I would never hurt you that way."

"Well, I guess you know I'd hurt you!" Lisbon started wailing at his shoulder, too near to his ear. "And that would have been our first time!" Her chest heaved, sobbing again.

"I didn't think about that." He peeled her away to make her look at him. Kissing her forehead, he teased, "I wish you could have found a less painful way to say, 'No.'"

"You could have found a better way to make love to me than to come at me like a raging bull!"

"Is that what I looked like to you?"

"Yes." She fidgeted. "My dad used to look like that. When he'd go after one of us. I had to fight him, and get him off my little brothers."

Jane was silent. He was such a dick. "I should have thought. I should have known better."

"How could you? It's not something I really talk about."

"No, it's not. I think you should talk to me. Will you?"

"Now?"

"Yes. It should be now while it's all fresh. It's the least we should do, after what we just went through." He took her quiet sniffling for assent. 'Let me up. I'll make us some tea and we'll sit at your table and talk. Okay?"

"Yes. Okay." Sobbing spasms still had her breath although she was no longer crying.

"I'm going to need an ice pack, though."

"Go sit down. I'll fix you an ice pack and make the tea."

And so they ended the night, talking at the table, drinking tea, Jane in his underwear with an ice pack at his balls. He spent the night on the couch and both went to work the next morning. Neither one said anything about leaving the other, ever again.


	4. Chapter 4

Jane was not one to turn loose of an idea. His body was on fire for her, ignited by his heart so full of passionate love, delayed in its full expression. He sought her with hungry kisses at every opportunity. He rubbed his face on her clothed breasts, snuggling into them, moaning with pleasure. He gently kissed the vee of her trousers, sometimes leaving a damp spot from his warm tongue where he tried to taste her, savor her scent, his hands molded to her cushy bottom. Lisbon had experienced more than one orgasm this way and Jane's eyes sparkled with pleasure when this happened, watching her face and listening to her cooing release.

It wasn't that she denied him sex. He didn't ask and they took such pleasure in what they were doing that he was content to wait for what he knew would happen shortly. Lisbon made it easier by massaging the length of him with nimble fingers, often leaving him with sticky underwear. It had all the markings of a teenage romance and he was ready to take the next step in the modern age.

.x.x.x.x.x.

They were using FaceTime on their tablets, as they often did on nights when they weren't together.

"God, Jane! You're like some horny teenager!"

"Why wouldn't I be? It seems like where we are in dating. We'd be at second base if it weren't for our clothes! C'mon, Teresa. I'll go first. What do you want to see?"

Lisbon hesitated. Phone sex? It seemed too lascivious. But Jane was so eager about it and she was curious, certainly about the intimate parts of his body. "Okay. Show me your bottom first."

"Tell me what to do." Jane did his best to breathe through the rush of pleasure at her consent and her request. She'd said, 'first!' She wanted to see more! He was so hard already, he felt he would bust out of his pants!

"You don't know what to do to show me your ass?"

"Haven't you done phone sex before? You have to describe everything."

"This is phone sex with a camera, Jane. Hey! You'd better not be recording this!"

"Damn! Okay, I won't." He thumbed the record button to toggle it off.

"Okay." Lisbon started to giggle. It seemed so silly to have to describe everything. But titillating, too. "Jane, pull your pants down and show me your ass."

She heard grunting over a blur of movement and fabric swirling on the screen as he moved.

"I can't!"

"What? You can't?"

"I have a belt on and I can't get my pants down without taking it loose."

"Oh, for—Open your belt, Jane, and take it off. Then unbutton your trousers and unzip them. Is that specific enough for you?"

"Oh, yes. Teresa?" He had the camera trained on his belt buckle and she watched his long fingers undo the clasp and pull the belt through the loops. He tossed it to the side. The picture was wobbly as he moved, but this was hot!

"Teresa!"

"What? Undo the button and unzip your pants, Jane!" She felt warm all over and completely turned on.

"Teresa. I think you should call me Patrick for this. Okay?"

"Sure. Now, pull your pants down in the back." She gave an exasperated sigh. "Your underwear, too, Patrick!"

"Ooooooh. So demanding and impatient. You're getting me really hot, Teresa. Let me show you."

"Hey!"

"Take it easy. I mean before I pull my pants down." He angled the camera and held it steady.

Lisbon's tablet screen held a close-up of the front of Jane's trousers with a conspicuous tent at the front. Jesus! This was almost better than real sex! Her breath must sound like a train! She had to get her jeans open. Her screen wobbled and a loud unzipping ripped the silence.

"What are you doing?"

"Why?"

"I heard zipping."

"Don't worry about what I'm doing. You're supposed to do what I say."

"That's not how it works. I get to know if you're getting turned on and doing something sexy I can't see. Because, otherwise I don't know and if I don't know, we're not having sex. Like I showed you my hard on in my pants."

"Fine. You heard unzipping. I unzipped my pants."

"What for?"

"What do you think? You're making me horny as hell, Patrick!"

"Nnnnnf! I love that. But you have to tell me everything, Teresa. That's what makes it good for me. Like, how do you know you're horny?"

Lisbon had her hand in her panties now. "Ah! Ah! I'm buzzing down there! It's tingling and I need to touch it or I won't get through this."

"Show me!"

Lisbon's laugh finally devolved into a delighted breathy chuckle. This was fun!

"Show me, Teresa!"

She angled the camera down to show him what she was doing.

"Are you touching yourself? I can't see under your clothes and your hand."

Lisbon laughed loudly. "You're not supposed to see me there. Just my hand. I'm buzzing like bees! I have to touch it or I'll go crazy, you idiot!" She laughed again.

"Oh my god! I can see your hand wiggling! I'm glad you're buzzing! I want you to touch it when you talk to me and think about me. What are you touching? Use dirty words, Teresa. Please?"

"I'm touching my pussy." She giggled. "I'm already wet and I have to touch it or I'll go crazy if we don't stop." Lisbon tried not to go for her clit, directly. Much as she wanted to, it was too soon. She'd climax in thirty seconds at this rate! "Aren't you supposed to be showing me your ass?"

"How are you touching your pussy? Bring the microphone closer. I want to hear the wet!"

Lisbon could hardly talk for laughing so hard at Jane's desperate eagerness, but she moved the tablet to her hand.

"Damn. I can't hear—Wait! Right there! Oh, god. I hear squishing noises! I wish I could put my fingers in you, in all that wet! Okay, pull the camera back and show me what you're doing now."

Lisbon lost her breath laughing. God, she wanted to go for her clit and finish herself off! "I'm still r-rubbing it with my hand. Ah ha ha ha. I don't want to d-do anything else. It's too soon." She listened to his harsh rhythmic breathing. "What are you doing?" She was almost cackling now.

"I have hold of my bad boy. It's swelled up big already! Want to see?"

Taking a breath like a gale so she could speak, she commanded, "No! We need to slow down. Stop messing around and show me your ass already, Patrick! I want to see!"

She heard him laugh softly as he shifted the camera and she watched the moons of his bottom slowly appear on the screen. "Hold it further away so I can the whole thing."

"What whole thing?"

"Your entire bottom!"

He pulled the camera back and wiggled his butt.

"Oh, God! You have a beautiful ass, Patrick. It looks so round and soft." Her fingers were wiggling now and she didn't want to stop them.

"Not that soft!" He slapped it and she could see the jiggle was firm, not flabby.

"Is there anything you want me to do with it?" He pinched the flesh in slow handfuls.

Teresa hesitated, holding her breath. That was too dirty!

"Well?"

Her face was beaming all sorts of red, and she made the next request in a soft voice. "Could you pull the cheeks open? I really want to see your rosebud now for some reason."

"Mmmm. My rosebud. When I hear you say that I want to come, it's so much sexier than the dirty word. I love how shy you are about it. Here." He got into a crouching position and pulled a cheek. "Can you see?"

"It's pink! It's so sweet!" Somewhere below she saw the shadowy rounds of his balls when he moved a certain way, but she wasn't ready for all that yet.

"Awwww, thank you. Do you want me to do anything?"

"No. Not now." She saw him start to change positions. "Wait! Pull your pants and underwear down to your knees. Wait!"

"Special dispensation. Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll figure out how."

"I want you to brush your balls with your fingers and I want to see what your fingers are doing, but I don't want to see your balls. Like I just showed you my hand on myself.

"Oh, that's going to make me want to come for sure!"

"No! Don't come!" She giggled. "I forbid it!"

"Oooooooh. All right then, my little dominatrix." Lisbon watched his fingers ride over the surface of his balls and listened to him start to moan.

She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath until she let it out in a rush. Her fingers were soaking! Removing her hand, Lisbon laid on the bed, relaxing and smiling. "You'd better stop that now, or it will be over too fast. This is really fun, Patrick. And very exciting. A few minutes ago I thought I was going to have to stop everything and c—well, finish."

"Oh, me, too. The way you talked to me and told me what you want, sometimes bold and sometimes shy. But when you laugh, to hear you so happy with what we're doing . . . it makes me feel crazy to get to you. I want to fuck you while you're laughing, so happy."

"I think you'd make me feel great if you did that." She sighed happily, getting her second wind. "It's your turn now. What do you want to see?"

"Anything?"

"I don't really know if I'm ready for anything, Patrick. But you get to choose."

"Okay. What I really want to see is . . ."

She waited for him to request she take her pants off. Instead she heard . . .

"Titties!"

"God, Jane." He seemed like a too-big puppy, grinning like an idiot and wiggling with pleasure. The only thing missing was the lolling tongue.

"Titties!"

Lisbon started to pull her tee shirt off, glad she was wearing a bra.

"No, wait! Let me tell you what to do. Okay. Lift the front of your shirt and show me first one and then the other."

"One and the other what?" She could play his game. "And I want you to call them by their right name."

"Oooooh, a technocrat! I will. But I have to say the other names, too." She saw him lick his lips. "Your tits. Your boobs. First lift your shirt to show me one beautiful breast and then both luscious breasts, Teresa."

She did as he asked and heard his breathing pick up.

"Oh, my god! They're beautiful, Lisbon! Take your shirt off now."

Tossing it aside, she centered the camera on her bosom again and Jane had her press and squeeze them in numerous and inventive ways. She could hear the excitement in his voice and lust blossomed in her core. "Just a minute, Patrick. I need to get my pants off." She removed all her lower clothing and opened her legs to make it easy for the hand she put between them.

"Lusty, Teresa! I wish I could see!"

"You made my tits horny now. Please finish with them. Please."

"I want you to pop one out of your bra. Oh, god yes! It's so plump and round and beautiful. So milky, I bet that's what I'd taste if I licked it. Just pet it for me. Oh! Make your nipple stand up. Jesus! Will it go more?"

Lisbon drew her fingers over her nipple like she was shaping taffy twists and made the nipple stand even higher. She moaned and rubbed her hand low. "I have to take the other one out, now. I need to touch it. Are you sure you still want my bra on?'

"Yes!"

His voiced sounded a little strained. "Oh, my God, if I was there . . . "

"What would you do if you were here, Patrick?"

"I'd take your bra off now and I'd lay myself between your breasts . . . "

Lisbon quickly removed her bra for him.

"Yes, Teresa, like that. Oh, god, they're so beautiful. I want to kiss them."

"I can't do that for you." She pushed her breasts together. "Is this where you'd lay your bad boy? Between my breasts?"

"Oh, yes! And I'd run it up and down until the head was bumping under your chin and my balls brushed a tickly path on your chest. And you'd squeeze your boobs even tighter around me, until I . . . until I . . . " His voice trailed off and Lisbon heard heavy breathing and soft grunting as the camera image shook.

"Jane, your face is shaking. It's making me dizzy. What are you doing?"

"Oh, god, Teresa. I'm pumping it! I want to come. Do you want to see?"

"No. I'll wait until I can see it for real. Slow down. Let me catch up with you." Her fingers worked vigorously and she started moaning. "Oh, Patrick, I'm going to come. All because of the way you talked to me and the things you showed me and because you love my tits so much."

"Ah, ah ah! And you want to see bad boy for real! God, I want to show you! I want to be in you right now. I want to see your face as I make you come. Oh! Now! Oh, I'm coming now. I wish I was inside you, but it feels so good." He directed the jets of semen into his hand and held it up to the camera. "Look what you did to me, Teresa."

Lisbon felt the surge in her core as her orgasm snaked loose and took control of her body, her fingers still working for its full release. Her breath resolved into loud rhythmic sighs, now matching Jane's as they both cooled down.

"That was great," she groaned. "I want to do that again. I'll show you everything next time. And I want to see everything you want to show me, Patrick."

"Teresa?"

"Yeah?"

"For our date this weekend, do you want to eat in and just be together?"

"Can we make love?"

"Oh, yes! That's what I want!"

"Can we still do phone sex?"

"Oh, we're not finished with that by a long shot! You're too good at it! Tomorrow night, if you want."

"Then, yes. And Jane?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Let's not do phone sex tomorrow. Because I'll show you everything. And I want to wait for the weekend. When it's real."

"I like that. You sound so eager! I can hardly wait." His voice was soft when he said, "I love you. And I still want to see everything on the phone."

"I love you, too."


	5. Chapter 5

They tried very hard to make a normal night of it, preparing dinner together, intending to sit down at the table and enjoy a relaxed meal and conversation, a traditional start to a night of making love. Maybe kissing and petting on the couch with a glass of wine, then when things became too passionate, retiring to the bedroom to feast on one another. Make a long, languid evening of discovering and learning the limits of their bodies That the evening took a completely different turn mattered to neither of them, in fact eager to create it, their story.

Without prior coordination, each had worn loose-fitting clothing. Lisbon was in yoga pants and a nicely draping long-sleeved jersey shirt and no bra. She laughed, opening the door on Jane in muted flannel sleep pants and a heavyweight tee shirt. He greeted her with an embrace that included his hands fondling her bottom and immediately took her breath away, their bodies molding together and sparking heat. She could feel him stiffening against her belly.

"I see you came prepared for a sleepover!"

"Very ready. See! I knew I wouldn't want trousers, too tight!"

Lisbon looked at the front of his bottoms. He was already semi-erect and pillowed the front of his sleep pants comfortably. "Already? Yes. I take it you plan to stay that way. Wouldn't want you to be in pain all night."

He drew her back into his arms and said quietly at her ear, "I don't want to stay this way very long, Teresa. You'll relieve my pain, I know. As I intend to relieve yours."

Pulling him down for a kiss, she leveraged her legs around his waist to press her heated sex against his belly, mewling satisfaction as she took his tongue into her mouth. She broke from him to gasp for air, her arms clutching his chest and her chin on his shoulder, breathing passion into his ear. He held her bottom with one hand and used a finger of the other to trace the crease of her vulva through her clothes. When he applied the flat of three fingers and started to rub, Lisbon made a sobbing noise and begged to be let down. Jane set her on her feet, kissing her forehead in tiny puckers to soothe her before they walked into the kitchen.

While Lisbon prepared a salad, Jane was often pressing her from behind, moving her hair to expose her neck and back, assaulting her with hot tingling kisses that forced her bottom out. Jane responded by curling his hips to her, sometimes lowering them and poking her with a stiffie that would have been intercourse if she had been naked. At one point, she stood wet and gasping, her arms braced on the counter as he pressed his chest on her back and fondled the cheeks of her ass until she thought she would go numb as he ran his rigid flesh up its crease.

"Jane. Ah! Oh, god, that feels so good."

"Mmmmph," he muttered as he started on her ear, tonguing the lobe before nipping it. His hands cupped her breasts over her shirt, thumbing the nipples and gasping when the nip to her earlobe raised them even harder. He was moaning from deep in his chest.

She tried to squirm away from him. "Your pants have been tented since you walked in the door. Let's calm down and eat or it will all be over before we start."

"Why do people say that? It makes no sense, Lisbon."

"Stop," she giggled. "I'm in no condition to explain centuries of language tradition."

Carrying their salads in both hands, Lisbon set them on the table, poured some wine and they sat down to eat. She forced down a few mouthfuls before setting down her fork. She watched a moment as Jane picked through his as if he was hunting a four-leaf clover. Her sudden stillness caught his attention and he looked at her.

"I can't eat this salad." It was tasteless compared to Patrick's kisses. "It doesn't taste like you!"

He set down his fork and smiled eagerly at her. "I'll feed you, then!" He held a hand out and she took it. "Come to bed!"

She leaped to wrap her legs around him again and he carried her in, placing her gently on the bed, while she wrapped her hand around his wrist and tumbled him in with her.

"Mmmmm, take me, woman!"

Lisbon framed his face with her hands, petting his bearded cheeks and holding his gaze before she kissed him, leading with the tip of her tongue to capture his lips.

She slipped her hand under the soft flannel of his pants, knowing he had no underwear, rubbed the fuzz of his belly leading to the root of his erection and took hold of it. Jane shivered and rode her palm. When she rotated her hand to the front and started petting him from the tip all the way down the front of his balls, she snaked his moisture down the shaft. He felt alive in her hand.

"Spread your legs open, Patrick."

Obeying, he moaned as she tenderly lifted his balls and caressed the skin behind them, splaying her fingers as she brushed the deep part of his ass there, so sensitive his cock fairly danced and he held lightly to her arm, his forehead pressed against it, huffing.

"Do you want me to make you come?"

He had no doubt this was in her immediate power. He whined in desire and indecision, pushing his flesh into her hand as he breathed through the stimulation. "No. Not yet. I want to be naked. And in you."

"We can take your pants off." She tugged at his waistband and knew her mouth would be on him as soon as the plump head she had felt with her hands made a showing. She wanted to see it and taste is so badly, her mouth watered.

"In a minute." He pulled away, kissed her and moved lower, his hand now fondling the plump still-covered flesh between her legs. He watched it shimmy as he thumbed it, finding the part and trailing his fingertips in before he kissed those lips softly with his own. Cupping his mouth over her, he blew warm breath through her thin pants, making her sigh. Then his hands were at the waistband, sliding them down, eager to expose her, drink her in with his eyes and finish her off with his tongue.

"Ah, Teresa! So plump and juicy!" The swelled labia were pulling her open, glistening with wet. His first two fingers pulling the flesh forward, he dipped his thumb into the slippery crease to find her clit, laying his knuckle to tease it as he lowered his mouth to her.

He kissed the skin at her hairline, then ran his tongue across the short raw silk of her hair. Suddenly her hands were at his shoulders and she used them to push herself a tiny bit away from him. He lifted his head to look into her deep green eyes, a flare of anxiety in them. She was so close to orgasm.

"You're so beautiful here. Just a taste. A snack. After all, you haven't fed me dinner." He took her laughter for consent and began kissing her, all instinct.

She felt his warm tongue lap her once, then press between her lips as if he was using it to learn her by feel. When he discovered her clitoris, he groaned, never losing her as she opened her legs wider and arched against his mouth, panting as he flogged and sucked the little organ to stand out of its hood. "Such a nice fat one!" he groaned right before he attacked it with his lips, humming his satisfaction.

Lisbon cried out softly, a tiny wail of warning before she came, quaking against his lips. He thrust his tongue into her and sucked harder, relishing the flight of her small hands into his hair, pulling on his curls and thrashing.

His short beard was painted with her juices and, looking into her eyes, he dried it gently on her shirt before lifting the soft garment over her head, exposing her naked breasts. He still had her shirt in hand when his full attention turned to the soft creamy globes in front of him. It fell to the floor when he opened his hand to take hold of her, groaning and running himself along the crease of her groin.

"Your pants," she gasped. "I want them off!" She tugged the waistband over his rump and he unsnagged the front from his erection, pushing the pants completely off with his feet, still kissing and cosseting her breasts. "Let me see!"

Letting a nipple pop softly from his lips, he curled away to let her see his body. She half-sat, propping herself with her hands to look at him, his beautiful fat pink penis with its blushing plum of a head dripping with moisture, his balls hung close to his body. Lisbon slid her body a little lower, supporting her shoulders on the pillows so that she could still see.

Jane looked into her eyes, so dilated that he could barely see a rim of green when they flashed in light at the movement of her head.

Setting her hands on her knees, she let her legs fall open, showing her swollen pink vulva to him, inviting him into her hot, wet depths. She pushed on her knees, forcing her legs wider and thrusting the glistening pink further forward towards him. "I want to watch you penetrate me."

"Oh, Lisbon!" Jane placed his hands on her upper thighs and curled his hips forward to lodge the head of his penis in the well of her opening, toying with her there as she gasped and moaned, watching him. With a short thrust, he popped into her and rotated himself slowly deeper. Working back and forth a few times, he thrust hard and saw her hips arch forward to him. He could wait no more and pulled them both, still joined, down the bed, pushed her legs wide and croaked out for her to hold her knees open. Then he took her deep and fast as flame crawled his spine and she dug her nails into his arms, speaking low into his ear, "Harder, Patrick. Deeper."

After a series of loud sighs, Lisbon uttered a low, wavering wail of ecstasy and Jane felt her flesh fold around his shaft like soft fingers, squeezing him as she pulsed in orgasm. It drew the head in deep, coaxing him into orgasm as he spilled his heart into her in spasms, coming hard and jamming deep against the bed of her womb. His relief, and the love he felt for this woman, was so deep that tears ran his cheeks as he kissed her and told her he loved her over and over. She held him tight as he rocked into her, returning his love. When he rolled and separated from her, they curled into each other and slept.

When Lisbon awoke she was alone in bed, listening to Jane's sounds in the kitchen. He was making tea and the kettle was whistling. Slipping on her clothes, she went to him, hugging him from behind. "Good morning."

He turned around and kissed her. "Morning, Lisbon." I got a mug down for you, but I don't know what you want from the Keurig today. We need to pack bags. A case in Florida somewhere. We leave tonight."

Lisbon checked her phone, and sure enough the message was there. "Okay. Maybe we can take some time for the beach."

"I'd love to see you in a bikini!"

"You've seen me naked close up. What's a bikini got on that?"

"Allure, Lisbon. Mystery. Seduction."

"Hmmmm. What should I put you in? A Speedo? Extra tight!"

"No! Leave me in my baggy Bermuda shorts! Think of something else."

"Baggy shorts will do. As long as I can get my hand in them. I rather liked getting into your roomy flannel sleep pants."

"You're going to make me hard now, Lisbon. Careful. I thought I was going to lose it when you handled me like that last night."

"I wanted you to lose it."

"I don't think you regret how things turned out."

Before she could answer, Lisbon caught a flash of yellow metal light from the far end of the counter. Checking it out, she found it was Jane's ring. She picked it up.

"Lisbon?" She hadn't answered him.

"What's this?"

Turning only long enough to see what she meant, Jane finished dunking his tea and set the bag in the sink. "I meant to take it off before we . . . before last night. I just forgot about it. Sorry."

"Jane. Look at me." She waited until he had turned completely around. "I never even thought about your ring. You don't have to do this."

"It's time. I don't need it."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm not sure. Put it in a safe spot, I suppose. I just wanted to take it off while I was thinking about it."

They sat quietly, finishing their morning drinks.

Lisbon set her mug down, got up and wiggled her way into Jane's lap, kissing the side of his face and licking his ear with the tip of her tongue. Pushing his empty cup and saucer aside, Jane slipped his hand under her shirt and cupped a breast to thumb a nipple to attention.

Lisbon reached into the front of his pajamas and found a stiffie forming, growing as she handled it. "You're still wearing these roomy bottoms I like. I could make you come this time."

He moved his head to kiss her lips. "Deal!"

As they walked back to the bedroom, Lisbon asked, "When does the flight leave?"

"Seven. We get in at ten. Time change."

"Another drawn-out, boring flight. We're going to get tired of those before long."

Jane's face brightened and he squeezed her waist. "Mile-High Club, next!"

"In your dreams, Patrick!"

"Oh, definitely!"


End file.
